Gently cradling her baby bump, model Rhian Sugden glows with health and happiness in the arms of her husband, proud dad-to-be, actor Oliver Mellor.
After six years and eight gruelling rounds of IVF, the couple have revealed exclusively to HELLO! that they have finally succeeded in fulfilling their pregnancy dream.
"We're over the moon," says Rhian, 37, who is now 16 weeks pregnant. "Our lives are going to change so much, which is very exciting."
"I can't wait for the baby to be born," says Oliver, 42, who starred in ITV's Coronation Street. "I'll pump my fist to the sky and shout, 'I'm a dad!'"
The couple's IVF journey
Their longed-for baby is due on 4 May, but the elated couple – who met in 2013 and married five years later - admit that there were times when they feared they were destined to remain childless.
Despite only being in her early 30s, tests showed that Rhian had such a low egg count and perimenopausal hormone levels that she and Oliver were given just a three per cent chance of conceiving naturally.
They turned to IVF, but when seven rounds over the course of six years at a cost of £130,000 failed, they almost gave up on it succeeding.
"I thought I'd never have children, that Oliver would leave me to have a baby with someone else, and I'd die alone," Rhian recalls.
Caring Oliver tried to dispel her fears. "I told her, 'I married you for you. I want you to have my child, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't matter because I still have you.'"
In August this year, the couple gave IVF one last try – their eighth attempt. "During the transfer of two eggs, I was warned that neither of them was of great quality," Rhian recalls. "At that moment, I thought, 'What's the point?' and cried."
Although they feared this round would fail too, Rhian took a pregnancy test nine days later.
"I was woken up by her calling out, 'Oh my God, I'm pregnant!'" says Oliver. "When I opened my eyes, I could see her holding up the stick from the test and smiling at me. I'll never forget the expression of sheer joy on her face, or the happiness and relief I felt inside."
Since then, Rhian has taken several pregnancy tests a day, "just to make sure." "It still doesn't feel real," she explains. "We were convinced it would never happen. But here we are, and we're thrilled."
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